DA seeks manpower for domestic violence cases

District Attorney Jeff Hunt is seeking grant money to hire an assistant district attorney who will focus primarily on domestic violence in prosecutorial district 29B, which includes Henderson County.

Special to the Times-News

District Attorney Jeff Hunt is seeking grant money to hire an assistant district attorney who will focus primarily on domestic violence in prosecutorial district 29B, which includes Henderson County.Hunt applied for the funds from the N.C. Governor’s Crime Commission in January. Domestic violence “seems to be a particularly virulent problem in 29B, as well as in other North Carolina mountain districts,” he said in a news release announcing the grant. “In the past, I have been reluctant to seek grant positions for various reasons, including the inevitable and substantial disruptions which result when the federal grant money runs out after two years and there is no funding available to replace it in order to continue the position.”“During the state’s budgetary crisis, available prosecutorial resources have declined across the state. However, district attorneys’ workloads have not,” he continued. “Domestic violence has become a serious enough problem that with this grant-funded assistant district attorney position, we intend to devote new and specialized prosecutorial resources in particular to reducing its impact on the safety of people in our communities, and on the courts of our three counties.”Hunt said he should learn the award status of the grant this spring.